Ash Flower
by Levan
Summary: The downfall of a flower brings two hearts together.


_If I were the rain..._

"Inoue! Inoue!" Screams shot amidst the rubble that shambled over the Fake Karakura town. Ichigo kneeled down along the debris, watching over the cold, unmoving figure that lied before him.

"Inoue! Inoue!" His screams echoed across the town, loud enough to alert even some of the unconscious members of the Gotei 13. His shrieks were but a mantra that daunted his hopes for a future that was serene – and blindly, he tried to remember.

_that binds together the heavens and the earth..._

Across him, Rukia wept. The petite woman held her hands hovering above the frail figure before her. She couldn't stop the tears that flowed so freely - she knows it wasn't her fault. Yet, the heart that writhes in agony tells her that she was indeed responsible.

She moved her hands aimlessly across the body, the coldness emanating from it sending shivers down her spine. The small glow erupting from her small hands were supposed to be the lights of hope she yearned for – but it was nothing more than a false symbol in her behalf. She was healing a dead body. Her intuition tells her this, but her emotions carried her to continue on, having meaningless faith.

_whom in all eternity would never mingle..._

Where were they? He spots the others, their unconscious bodies still intact. They fought hard – Urahara, Yoruichi, Isshin... and even Captain Unohana was admirable enough to join in the fight that Ichigo had sparked inadvertently. They were in no condition to wake up in a few minutes time. They were resting. But Ichigo's body shrieked harshly. He was losing a dear friend that he can never replace for all eternity.

Rukia continued on with her aimless healing and sorrowful lamenting. The Shinigami focused herself on the task at hand even if it was meaningless. She was crying because she couldn't admit to herself that it was her fault. She wondered why the figure in front of her took the opportunity of rescuing her from certain death, in exchange for her very life. Even Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes when she jumped in front of Rukia as the dreadful Aizen casted a deadly spell on the unwary Shinigami, all in all ultimately ending the siege by distracting the Hollowfied Aizen just for a split second and Ichigo, the hero, piercing his sword through the embodiment of the Hogyoku.

Yet, there was nothing they can do.

_would I be able to bind two hearts together?_

"Inoue! Inoue!" He called her name repeatedly – an irony that remained to bother him. Perhaps, in a demented twist of fate, the same thing that happened to him would occur to her as well. He shook his head and cursed himself for thinking such an outlandish thought in the middle of this dilemma.

It was a war that they won, but for him, it was truly a loss. He slayed the Hollows that endangered his friends, ventured through Hueco Mundo to rescue the woman that people thought had betrayed them, and fought against unspeakable evil that threatened his life multiple times. But all of this felt as if they were nothing. It was not wasted effort, but hardships that were voided in a matter of seconds.

"Rukia..."

Ichigo clutched her trembling hands, halting the light emitting from her fingertips. He knew that she felt responsible for all of this – that she should take all the blame.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Ichigo..."

The rest of her words were swallowed within the embrace of Ichigo's arms. She buried her face on his chest and poured out the flooding guilt that pained her so. Her wails of agony slowly tore against him – it was too much, even for him, to bear.

He watched at Orihime Inoue, her face forming a peculiar smile. Her lifeless eyes glimmered like the shallow hope they felt was deeper than they could have ever imagined. He reached for her face and closed her eyes, feeling the heavy burden suddenly relapse from his soul. It was truly the ultimate sacrifice that both would remember forever.

And the pale girl that once brimmed with energy lied on the cement like an everlasting flower, never withering even from her ashen skin.


End file.
